Shelf construction



Nov. 8, 1949 J. E. BORAH 2,437,301

SHELF CONSTRUCTION v Filed Sept. 20, 1945 JOH/V" f7 5024/1.

I NV EN TOR.

Patented Nov. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES P OFFICE SHELF CONSTRUCTION John E. Borah, Penn Township; St. Joseph County, Ind:

Application September 20, 1945,-Serial No. 617,571'

8 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in shelf construction.

The primary object of the invention is to provideav unitary shelf construction which mounts rods adaptedto be projected therefrom [to support articles of clothing for drying :purposes, said rods being retractible when not in use.

A'further object is to provide a simple, inexpensive, strong and compact shelf construction of lightweight.

A further object is to provide a novel shelf construction which is molded or cast in one piece and which includes guide passages for slidably receiving rods or bars.

Other objects will be apparent from the des-cription'an-d appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. l'is a perspective view of the rack construction.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig; 4 is a transverse sectional View of the device taken online 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional a partused in the Fig. 5 embodiment of theinvention.

Referring to thedrawing, and particularly to Figs- 1 i304, which illustrate the .preferred em bodiment of the invention, th numeral l0 designates ashelf panel which has an upwardly pro"- jecting flange I2 extending along the rear edge thereof, upwardly projecting end flanges 14 at its opposite ends, and a downwardly projecting front flange Hi. The shelf "land the flanges l2, l4 and I6 are preferably formed integrally, as by molding or casting. The unit may be madeifromt plastic material of either the thermosetting type, such as Bakelite, or the thermoplastic type, such as cellulose acetate. However,-- it will be unde'r stood that the materials-mentioned aboveare illustrative and not limiting. It is also contemplated that the shelf unit may also be formed of meta1 such as aluminum or magnesium -alloy or from glassor porcelain.

The shelfpanel. lllisncharacterized by a flat upper surface "and by. a plurality of ribs lt 'which extend transversely across the panel in spaced parallel relation and project downwardly at the bottom surface thereof. The ribs are molded integrally in the unit and merge with the front flange [6 which serves to conceal them. Each rib has a longitudinal centralbore 20 extending therethrough. Thebores are of uniform diameter for themajorportion'of their length. and

provide a shoulder 22in each. A rod 24, of a length slightly greater than the width of the s-helf'and of. a diameter .to fit snugly andslid'ably in the reducedfront portion of the-bore fits in each" bore. The rods have enlarged heads 26 at their inner ends fitting snugly and slidably in the large diameter portionof the bore '20. Rods 24 may be made of. plastic material, wood, metal, glass or any other suitable rigid material.

The rear flange l2 has a plurality of apertures 28 formed therein andad-apted to receive screws 3ll=by3 means ofwhichthe shelf is secured to a wall or other support, as shown in'Fig. 4. When so installed; the wall or. support forms a. stop whichlimitsretraction of the rods 24 so that at least theirtips 32 always project from the unit and-maybe grasped readily for full extension with their heads 26- bearing against shoulders 22. the-extended-position the rods are held against tiltlngby' the supporting engagement ofthercds with the reduced bore portions and of the rod headswith large bore portions, and hence form supports on which laundered clothing may be hung; to dry. It will be observed that the flanges l2, l4 and I6 and the ribs I8 all cooperate to reinforce and strengthen the device, so that the .unit may be made of thin section throughout to achieve light weight. The unit forms an attractive and useful household fixture, it [being observed that'articles supported on the shelf do not 34; such-as small :plates or blocks of rigid material which' are preferably molded or formed of the same '-material as the shelf unit. Plates 34 have shallow projecting ends 36 provided with apertures to receivescrews or other securing members 38 which are threaded into the unit at the ends thereof; Sockets areformed in the plates 34 spaced below the upper edge thereof and pref era-fillybelowthe level of the bottom edge of the front flange l6, and the-opposite ends of one or more rigid bars 40 are supported in said sockets. It will be understood, however, that plates 34 may be secured to the unit by cement, such as a ce-.

ment constituting a volatile solvent for the plastic material of which the unit and the :plates 34 are formed, thereby firmly bonding the pants in unitary structure.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figs. and 6 and entails a construction which is fabricated from multiple parts and assembled. In this embodiment the horizontal shelf panel Hi, the back flange I2 and the front flange l6 are formed from a sheet of plastic material bent to shape. The end flanges I4 are also formed of plastic sheet stock, out to size and shape. The end flanges are cemented or bonded in position. The ribs l8 are formed from tube stock having a flat surface 42 adapted for face engagement with bottom surface of the shelf panel I0, and are likewise cemented or bonded to said shelf panel [0 and to the front flange IS. The front flange has openings 44 of a diameter smaller than the bore of the tube It and concentric therewith, formed therein to correspond to the reduced diameter portion of the bore 20 of the preferred embodiment.

The same advantages obtained in the preferred embodiment are contained in this embodiment, the difference being primarily the avoidance of the necessity for molds to manufacture the article, inasmuch as the stock could be completely preformed except for the bending to define the flanges l2 and I6. Also, the size of the device could be varied at will without requiring molding, etc. for each different size. As in the preferred construction, the device enables the use of thin sheet stock which would be susceptible to bending in flat form but held rigid by the reinforcements therein.

I claim:

1. A shelf unit comprising a shelf panel, upwardly projecting flanges at the rear and side of said panel, a downwardly projecting flange at the front of said panel, a plurality of ribs extending transversely of and projecting below said panel, said panel, flanges and ribs being formed integrally as a unit, said ribs each having a longitudinal bore open at its ends, said front flange having apertures registering with said bores and a rod slidable in each bore.

2. A shelf unit comprising a shelf panel, upwardly projecting flanges at the rear and side of said panel, a downwardly projecting flange at the front of said panel, a plurality of ribs extending transversely of and projecting below said panel, said panel, flanges and ribs being formed integrally as a unit, said ribs each having a longitudinal bore open at its ends, and a reduced diameter portion at its front end, said front flange having apertures registering with said bores and a rod slidable in said reduced bore portion and having a head at its inner end slidable in the rear portion of said bore.

3. A shelf unit comprising a thin shelf panel, reinforcing flanges projecting from at least some of the margins of said panel, a plurality of ribs projecting from the :bottom face of said panel and concealed by one of said flanges projecting downwardly from the front of said panel, said ribs each having a bore terminating in a reduced end portion open at and extending through said front flange and adapted to slidably receive a rod, said panel, flanges, ribs and bore constituting an integral structure.

4. A shelf comprising an integral molded body including a horizontal shelf panel, marginal reinforcing flanges, and ribs spanning said panel and projecting therebelow, said ribs each having a bore therethrough, and rods slidable in said bores between predetermined limits.

5. A shelf comprising a horizontal shelf panel formed of thin plastic sheet material, said sheet having an upturned rear flange and a downturned front flange bent therefrom, and a plurality of tubes secured to the bottom face of the panel in parallel spaced relation transversely of the flanges to rigidify said sheet unit, each tube having a bore, said downturned front flange having passages therein concentric with and of a smaller size than the bores of said tubes, and a rod slidable in each tube bore.

6. A shelf comprising a horizontal shelf panel formed of thin plastic sheet material, said sheet having an upturned rear flange and a downturned front flange bent therefrom, and a plurality of tubes secured to the bottom face of the panel in parallel spaced relation transversely of the flanges to rigidify said sheet unit, each tube having a bore, said downturned front flange having passages therein concentric with and of a smaller size than the bores of said tubes, said tubes having a flat exterior surface adapted for face engagement with the bottom of said shelf panel and bonded in face engagement therewith and a rod slidable in each tube bore.

7. A shelf comprising a horizontal shelf panel formed of thin plastic sheet material, said sheet having an upturned rear flange and a downturned front flange bent therefrom, and a plurality of tubes secured to the bottom face of the panel in parallel spaced relation transversely of the flanges to rigidify said sheet unit, each tube having a bore, said downturned front flange having passages therein concentric with and of a smaller size than the bores of said tubes, and end pieces of thin sheet stock bonded at their edges to the upper face of the panel and said upturned flange and a rod slidable in each tube bore.

8. A shelf comprising a horizontal shelf panel formed of sheet material, said sheet having an upturned rear flange and a downturned front flange bent therefrom, and a plurality of tubes secured to the bottom face of the panel in spaced relation transversely of the flange and each having a bore, said downturned front flange having passages therein concentric with and of smaller size than the bores of said tubes, and a rod slidable in each tube bore.

JOHN E. BORAH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number D. 138,992 327,502 349,875 591,440 1,090,724 1,270,718 2,258,178 

